Entry/Exit of subjects in premises is typically detected and recorded by means of a smartcard based system wherein a subject while entering/exiting a premises punches/swipes the smartcard in an electronic unit on a doorway of the premises. Alternatively biometric systems are also used wherein the subject while entering/exiting the premises displays typically a finger on an electronic unit on the doorway of the premises. However, smartcards can be easily be misplaced or damaged resulting in the subject getting stranded within/outside the premises. Biometric systems are not always reliable, as subjects with rough fingers from laboring for example, may not be accurately identified by the electronic unit. Use of these systems in places where lot of subjects enter/exit the premises can result in long queues, causing a lot of inconvenience. Furthermore, a large amount of data needs to be kept in the electronic unit at the doorway, resulting in increased technical complexity and also increasing the cost of the system. Moreover, these systems require continuous power supply and even a slight disruption in power supply can shut down the system and/or electrically damage the system. In places with regular power disruptions, these systems need to be backed up with alternate power supply through generators and the like, leading to further increase in the overall costs of maintaining such systems.
With advancements in technologies, the entry/exit of subjects in premises is detected by implementing systems that employ WiFi and Radio Frequency (RF)/GPS technologies. In such systems a virtual boundary is created around a doorway or a geographical area that can trigger an action in a cellular device or other portable electronic device. When a user with a cellular device implementing the system enters/exits the boundary an automatic alert such as an instant message, an email and the like, is sent. For example, an alert can be sent to a child's parents when the child enters/exits a designated area such as a school or a house. The virtual boundary is created around a doorway of the school/house whereby an alert is automatically sent to the child's parents when the child having a cellular phone implementing the system enters/exits the school/house. Similarly, an alert can be sent to a receiver of a cargo and/or a sender of the cargo when a cargo vehicle enters a doorway of a premise such as a factory. The virtual boundary is created around the doorway of the premises whereby an alert is automatically sent to the receiver of the cargo and/or the sender of the cargo when the cargo vehicle with a cellular phone implementing the system enters/exits the premises.
However, a drawback with systems that use WiFi technologies is that a user of the cellular phone implementing the system can choose to switch-off the WiFi in the cellular phone to save battery and later forget to switch-on the WiFi. As a result the entry/exit of the user cannot be detected. Furthermore, these systems necessarily need active WiFi connections at every doorway thereby requiring heavy and power intensive infrastructure which increases the overall cost of using these systems.
Systems that use RF/GPS technologies, apart from having the drawback of requiring heavy and extensive power intensive infrastructure, suffer from lack of regulatory compliance as these systems operate on licensed spectrum.
Hence there is a need for a system that can overcome the aforementioned drawbacks and detect the entry/exit of subjects without the need for extensive infrastructure and at the same time is cost effective.
Objects
Some of the objects of the present disclosure aimed to ameliorate one or more problems of the prior art or to at least provide a useful alternative are listed herein below.
An object of the present disclosure is to provide a detection system for detecting the direction of a subject passing through a doorway.
Another object of the present disclosure is to provide a detection system that does not require heavy infrastructure.
Another object of the present disclosure is to provide a detection system that consumes less power.
Another object of the present disclosure is to provide a detection system that does not have regulatory compliance issues.
Another object of the present disclosure is to provide a detection system that is cost effective.
Other objects and advantages of the present disclosure will be more apparent from the following description when read in conjunction with the accompanying figures, which are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.